Have you ever said everything is fine and actually meant it?

While giving context to her new song, Skye Wallace paralleled many people’s pandemic existence, especially my own: “We often say everything is fine when it’s not. On the other hand, we can tell ourselves ‘everything is fine’ just to keep going.”

Like many, on what felt like March 385th 2020, I decided to get organized during lockdown. After sorting my closet, kitchen and an old file shred-a-thon, it was time to tackle organizing the thousands of photos on my laptop. It was then, while going back to the earliest iPhone photo backups, that I had to come to terms with all the pictures I forgot to delete of… stove tops. My old stove in Vancouver, with the ridiculous word poetry magnets, my friend’s tiny gas stove in Barcelona from when I visited in 2018, the sleek stove of an AirBNB in Silverlake with the kettle taken off the burner, and the same kitchen stove I’ve used in my current apartment over and over again. I was always safeguarding, for reasons I can’t explain, to confirm that the appliances were off. It started out as looking at the knobs or touching the cold burners. Over time that wasn’t enough to confirm what consumed me – that if I’d accidentally left a stove on I could start a fire and hurt someone.

I can’t pinpoint when the obsessions began, nor why I need to confirm a stove won’t magically turn itself on. Even if I haven’t used it for days, every time I leave the house I check. And check. On the good days, weeks or months, just once. The others – it can be a whole song and dance routine of touching burners, counting touchpoints, and, since getting an iPhone, on the very bad days when I am crippled by a turned off stove, I take a photo. Whenever I have a moment of panic, I can check the photo and know that everything is fine. Another checking compulsion, sure, but one that works really well.

God forbid I ever have a fireplace.

Around the same time during the pandemic, and with far fewer photos of stovetops, Skye Wallace was having different conversations with herself about mental health and life as a musician caught in the gray area of a locked down existence. According to Wallace, she wrote “Everything is Fine” with friend Alex Marusyk as a mutual coming together, not just to bare her soul during a time of anxiety and depression, but to try to assess what was going on and attempt to get things under control. To try to find that control without knowing how, and without losing touch with herself in the process. “It cracked me open in a way that I needed, I wanted to connect with people; everyone collectively had been through so much” said Wallace in conversation, “Knowing the honesty in rawness and vulnerability can strike a chord, the goal was also to find comfort in the process, to be softer to yourself and find happiness, joy, or even simply find a way to get out of the cyclical spirals in your head.”

While some may wear a metaphorical mask when doing this work, for the video, Skye decided to don a real one, adding levity to gloom by becoming a sad swamp thing looking for small wins. Keeping vulnerability as the undercurrent was important: “I wanted people to see it and laugh and not be more bogged down…while making sure to acknowledge the pieces of the process people go through. To [connect] with this creature and character, the way they go about life. It’s the melancholy and the lightness after the storm. To go about a day with depression and do everything within your toolkit and in your power to try to be okay.”

For the last 14 months I’ve added to my toolkit. It now includes a therapist specializing in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, working through Exposure and Response Prevention, and slowly learning to sit with uncertainty (stove and all) during a very uncertain time. For many years I hid behind the colloquial use of OCD as an adjective, as it’s unfortunately become common to describe everything from tidiness to having specific quirks or preferences as ‘OCD.’ Though those could be compulsions, compared to casually tossing around a disorder, my reality of living with one is far from just being particular or having an organized calendar. It can be overwhelming, exhausting and at times crippling. But like common responses to “‘How are you?”’ If we told people what we were really feeling, would they want to know? Or do we tell ourselves and others ‘everything is fine,’ put on a metaphorical mask, and keep going? I’m trying to take the mask off now. Maybe it’s not about being fine, it’s about trying to get better.

“Storytelling is everything,” says Wallace, “Our stories are at the core of connecting. Wanting to listen and wanting to be heard, it’s incredible.”

Listen to “Everything Is Fine” along with songs by Begonia, Otis Redding, and Jungle in our playlist, curated by Lana Gay.

Skye Wallace’s latest single, “Everything Is Fine,” emerges from the deep to remind us that saying it doesn’t always make it so (but it sure can help). This repetition of a new mantra, which also serves as hook and outro, offers much needed reassurance. “Everything Is Fine” is accompanied with a beautiful video that follows the day in the life of a creature trying to get by in Toronto. 

Join ‘Swamp’ Wallace as she tenaciously battles her way through a regular day, facing challenges and finding joy in small wins. Watch the new video below. 

We seek a new member of our publishing/sync team, who will be key in performing day-to-day duties. Responsibilities will be as follows:

Catalogue management in DISCO:

• Song catalogue upload, instrumentals, metadata, share splits, lyrics, tagging and general maintenance of the platform
• Auditing back catalogue and updating DISCO on a regular basis
• Ensuring that the contact section is up to date with writers’ correct publishers, PROs etc

Create and distribute monthly sync newsletter to music supervisors

Creative Pitching

• Compile playlists and relevant copyright components for pitches
• Input quotes, retrieve audio assets, instrumentals, a capellas and stems

Licensing

• Retrieve/upload video of placements and communicate to marketing (for socials and for sync sections of both Six Shooter and High Priestess websites)
• Update and maintain sync contacts and licenses database
• Assist with license coordination and follow ups

Assist with publishing agreements

Manage the maintenance of publishing websites (Six Shooter and High Priestess) including news, banners, playlists and audio maintenance

Other duties as required.

Requirements:

– Experience in the Canadian music industry for 5+ years

– Proficiency with music copyright, sync licensing and publishing admin

– Exceptional attention to detail, solid time management skills and the ability to multi-task and prioritize, while staying ahead of deadlines in a fast-moving environment

– Ability to work independently and in a team environment, a self-starter

– Excellent written, interpersonal, verbal communication, and networking skills

– Proficiency with DISCO

Nice to Haves & Attributes:

– Education related to the music business

– Optimistic with positive energy and outlook

– Creative writing and marketing analytics experience

– Passionate about music, publishing and sync

– Thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment; a team player, willing to pitch in whenever needed

Job Specs:

Position: Publishing & Sync Manager (part-time)

Reporting to: Director Publishing

Hours: Monday-Friday, 4 hours per day (Timings TBD)

Location: Open to in person in Toronto, Hybrid or remote.

Compensation: Salary range from $20-$25/hour to be determined commensurate with experience, and health benefits.

Application Deadline: March 18, 2022

Please Apply Here.

No phone calls please.

We invite applications from all qualified candidates, especially from people who identify as racialized, Indigenous, differently abled, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. Upon request, suitable accommodations are available under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act for applicants invited to an interview.

Founded in 2000, Six Shooter Records is a full-service music universe with label, publishing and management companies built on a mandate of working with artists committed to a lifetime career in music. Our primary goal is artistic excellence. With over 20 years of experience, Six Shooter pushes the boundaries of art and innovation with a critically acclaimed roster that defies classification, a growing team that values integrity, expertise and professional advancement, and a steadfast commitment to artist development and longevity. Six Shooter Records is headquartered in Toronto, read our full land acknowledgement here and our Code of Practise here.

Ours is a fast-paced, friendly environment with an enterprising culture. We seek a contract member of our management team, who will be key in performing day-to-day management duties. Responsibilities will be as follows:

LIVE

• Prepare touring budgets/alternate scenarios to choose from
• Apply for and complete all touring grants
• Liaise with booking agents, signing contracts, checking routings and tour details including announce plans and marketing.
• Execute all tour logistics, including work visas, travel, advancing shows/events when there is no TM, gear and shipping logistics.
• Hire, liaise and communicate with artist teams (tech, musicians, etc).
• Ensure artist merchandise is ordered, shipped, and tracked as well as work with manager/merch company on overall merchandise strategy and marketing through socials/touring sales.
• Ensure all songs and set lists are properly registered, working with admin department.

MARKETING/SOCIAL MEDIA

• Share updates with label/marketing team, follow through on all projects, specifically execution of social media posting, monitoring and interaction.
• Attend all management and marketing meetings related to the artist and act as central communication hub
• Ensure all tour marketing posts/announces are executed correctly (including tags/hashtags) and in a timely manner as per content calendar
• Work with artist to ensure personal social media posts occur.
• Oversee accounts such as Patreon, where necessary.

ADMINISTRATION

• Provide production assistance & management to all photo & video shoots, live stream performances, interviews, recording sessions etc.
• Maintain admin/personal information files as well as portals and password maintenance.
• Manage/organize artist files in an easy to use and orderly fashion.
• Work with label/publisher on metadata
• Work with business manager where relevant for payments and receipt maintenance.
• Special projects for artist, as required.
• Other duties as required.

Requirements:

• Experience in the Canadian music industry for 3+ years
• Experience in live music and touring
• Exceptional attention to detail, solid time management skills and the ability to multi-task and prioritize, while staying ahead of deadlines in a fast-moving environment
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment, a self-starter
• Proficiency with top social media platforms
• Excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency in MS Office, Google Suite, Dropbox, Slack.

Nice to Haves & Attributes:

• Education related to the music business and/or artist management
• Optimistic with positive energy and outlook
• Passionate about music and advocating for artists
• Thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment; a team player, willing to pitch in whenever needed

Job Specs:

Position: Artist Management Associate (Full-Time, Contract with a possibility of permanence)

Reporting to: President, Six Shooter Inc.

Contract Period: April 2022 – Sept 2023

Hours: Monday-Friday 10:00AM – 6:00PM (EST)

Location: Toronto, ON

Compensation: Salary range from 45K-60K to be determined commensurate with experience, and health benefits.

Application Deadline: April 1, 2022

Please Apply Here and attach any documents in PDF format within the application.

No phone calls please.

We invite applications from all qualified candidates, especially from people who identify as racialized, Indigenous, differently abled, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. Upon request, suitable accommodations are available under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act for applicants invited to an interview.

With the release of “Sing Me a Song,” William Prince and Serena Ryder cement a blossoming friendship and collaborative relationship that has been growing since they shared the stage to perform Prince’s “The Spark” at the 2021 JUNO Awards. In “Sing Me a Song,” the two master songwriters add together call and response verses that create a powerful equation for the magic of young love’s early encounters.

Follow their journey to Massey Hall where the two will co-headline on April 1, 2022. Find your tickets here.

In her new video for “Truth Be Told,” the song’s theme of radical self-acceptance comes to life as Skye Wallace rocks out in a kaleidoscope of colourful identities, each one fitting like a glove. It takes guts to embrace who you are, flaws and all.